Normally a wildfire that adds about a thousand acres a day would be very newsworthy, but now that the Apple Fire has burned over 27,000 acres, an additional 500 or 1,000 acres a day is only about a three percent increase. That is what this large fire north of Beaumont and Banning, California has been doing for the last several days. Much of the fire has reached the very steep rocky slopes of the highest peaks in Southern California and the Transverse Ranges at 7,000 to 10,000 feet where firefighting is even more difficult than it is on flat ground in California.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Apple Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

Wednesday the incident management team said the fire was mapped at 27,319 acres.

On Tuesday and Tuesday night the fire was active in some areas on the east and west flanks. Ground crews continued to build line in the area of Pine Bench and made good progress on the western perimeter east of Oak Glen. Line building continued Wednesday up to Yucaipa Ridge which is a high priority in order to protect the Forest Falls and Oak Glen communities.